


Like A Heartbeat, Drives You Mad

by gaypickles (qsofske)



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, a halfassed college au i guess, anya raven & o may be idiots but love their equally idiotic bffs with their whole hearts, artist!Clarke, clarke is a dork, clexa au, clexa! there's fleetwood mac!, honestly i don't need this many tags, i just really love them so so much :(, i just want people to read this and tell me whether i should continue, i might do more idk if it's any good, lexa is a nerd tbh, lexa is also a dork, singing!clarke, ᵗʰᵉ ˢᵘᵍᵍᵉˢᵗᵉᵈ ᵗᵃᵍˢ ᵃʳᵉ ᵛᵉʳʸ ᵈᶦˢᵗᵘʳᵇᶦⁿᵍ ᵒʰ ⁿᵒ
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-17 06:37:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17555255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qsofske/pseuds/gaypickles
Summary: i just really miss clexa and i love fleetwood mac so there's thattheir separate best friends make our beloved idiots go out to a small bar for a fun night of drinking and dancing, but an awkward encounter at the bar and a mostly unwilling jam session of our favourite blonde leaves them both constantly thinking about the other...if people like this i might continue writing/posting it, but you'll have to let me know if my writing is even any good first. goodbye fellow gays i love u





	Like A Heartbeat, Drives You Mad

**Author's Note:**

> i hope this is good bc honestly i can't tell at this point
> 
> have fun!! stay safe!!

* * *

** Dreams **

 

“Griffin! Hurry the fuck up, O is waiting for us!“ Raven shouted over her shoulder to her best friend, after hearing the car horn sound for the second time.

 

“I still don’t get why you’re making me go out.“ Clarke whined as she stepped out of her bedroom, wearing tight black jeans, a white button up with her leather jacket, and her mid-calf black combat boots.

 

“Because we just moved to this giant fucking city and we should celebrate by drinking our asses off! Also, the bar we’re going to has-“ she stopped when she turned around and saw her friend standing ready in the doorway.

 

“What?“ the blonde asked.

 

“Nothing, you just.. look _hot_. Damn Griff, you clean up nice!“ Raven answered with a smirk.

 

“Shut up, can we just go now?“

 

“After you!“

 

The brunette held the door open and the blonde stepped out, silently smiling and shaking her head at her roommate’s silly behaviour.

 

\---

 

“Finally! Took you fucking long enough! Now get your pretty butts in here and LET’S GO!“ Octavia exclaimed as her friends reached the car.

On the drive to their bar of the night - a fun medium-sized place called “Grounder’s” -  they talked about the last few days .

 

“So how did the move go? Everything all settled in?“ Octavia asked.

 

“Well… we put all the boxes in the living room and pulled out a bunch of cushions to sleep on tonight, if that’s what you mean.“ Clarke said as she glared at Raven.

 

“We’ll build the furniture some other time“ Raven shrugged “Besides, don’t act like you don’t love cuddling up to me at night“ she winked.

 

Clarke rolled her eyes at her best friend.

 

“You got all your shit moved in _this morning_. What the hell were you doing the whole day?“ Octavia questioned.

 

“We had a discussion on who should get the bigger room.“ Raven said.

 

“I wouldn’t call it a discussion, it was more of a fight. It got physical.“ Clarke added.

 

“So which one gets the room now?“

 

“ME!“ Clarke and Raven shouted at the same time, turning their gaze to glare at each other.

 

“Goddamn children... And this is what I call my closest friends…“ Octavia mumbled as she pulled up to the bar.

 

\---

 

“Remind me again why I’m here?“ Lexa groaned as she dropped her head onto the counter with a loud thud.

 

“Because you’re living with me now and I’m not going to let you sit around at home and _study_ on a friday night. Besides, tonight’s Open Mic Night! It’s gonna be fun!“ Anya replied and ruffled Lexa’s hair.

 

The brunette shot up her head to give her older cousin a death glare “I hate you.“

 

She thought for a moment. “Can I get a beer? I gotta get through this night somehow“

 

“Sure thing.“ An opened beer bottle was put down in front of her.

 

Just as she was about to take a sip, the door to the front of the bar opened and three young women walked in.

A short blonde woman with piercing blue eyes immediately caught Lexa’s attention and she started choking on her beer.

Two of the women went to get a table near the front of the little stage, as the other one made her way towards the bar.

 

“Hi“ the beautiful blonde approached Anya who stood behind the counter, bartending for the night “could I get three beers, please?“

 

Anya smiled and nodded and went to open the three bottles, while Clarke put her money on the counter, leaving a small tip.

 

She looked over at Lexa, still coughing but now visibly out of breath, and asked with genuine concern “Are you alright?“

 

Lexa, surprised by the sudden question and appearance of the gorgeous girl in front of her, just turned her head in embarrassment and stifled her coughs with her arm. She awkwardly gave the other woman a thumbs up with her free hand.

 

She couldn’t see how she had smirked at the brunette and took the three bottles from Anya with a smile and “Thanks“ before walking back over to her friends.

 

“You good Lex? That was insanely awkward to even just watch.“ she heard her cousins voice.

 

“Shut up.“ Lexa muttered back and lowered her head again, blushing.

 

\---

 

“Where’s O?“ Clarke asked as she put the beer down on the little table her friends secured next to the small stage while she was off to fetch their drinks.

 

“Off flirting with some guy” Raven answered as she took a sip and pointed to the edge of the stage with her free thumb.

 

Looking over to where Raven pointed, Clarke saw Octavia talking to a tall, handsome, muscular guy with a genuine smile on her face, which the man returned. She lightly shoved him in the shoulder and gave him a little wink and wave before going back to the table.

 

“See you’ve already found a friend for the night, what’s his name?” Raven teased her friend.

 

Clarke shot her a glance _“Really?”_ while Octavia just shrugged “Lincoln. And shut up.”

 

“She knows his name! We have to mark this day in our calendars! I never thought the day would come where Octavia Blake actually asked _and_ remembered the name of some guy she was flirting and probably hooking up with later” Raven mocked further.

 

“Again, shut up. Also, I wasn’t _only_ flirting. I’ve done my work for the day.” Octavia raised an eyebrow at Raven while Clarke just watched her best friends in confusion.

 

“Ah, okay.” Raven smirked back at the brunette.

 

Clarke was just about to ask what the hell they were talking about when the tap of a microphone sounded through the cozy bar. Everyone looked up to where the sound had come from.

The guy that was previously talking to Octavia stood in the middle of the stage with a microphone in hand. He cleared his throat before speaking.

 

“Good evening folks. As you know and as it is our tradition, tonight is the single most important night of the month. It’s with my greatest pleasure that I announce, Open Mic Night has officially begun! If you wanna perform, just come to me or my friend Anya, the lovely owner of this place” he pointed his hand toward her, standing behind the counter cleaning some glasses, looking up to give a small wave to the turned heads “and we will be more than happy to have you on stage. Don’t worry though, Jasper is still banned for a whole month. Sorry, man.”

He chuckled and a distant “No worries!” sounded.

Lincoln continued “Anyway, you get it. This introduction is already getting too long, so I wanna get to the point. Normally we don’t really see new faces around here, but everything can change someday and a little birdy told me we got a real talent on our hands today!” he winked at Octavia. Clarke furrowed her brows. “May I welcome, and I quote, ‘the best fucking voice on this shithole of a planet’: Clarke Griffin! Come on up!”

 

_“That quote sounded exactly like something Octavia or Raven would say_ ” Clarke thought.           

 

_“Wait. Clarke Griffin?”_

 

Raven nudged her shoulder.

Clarke stared at her friends in confusion.

 

“Come on, get up there. We didn’t go through all that trouble of finding this place so you would just gape at us like a fish. Go melt some hearts with your voice, Princess. They’re waiting.”

 

Clarke’s eyes widened at the realisation.                                                                                      

 

“Wait, did you-“ she started, but was stopped when her friends pushed her into the direction of the stage.

 

“Ah! There she is! Come on up, we got the guitar waiting for you” Lincoln said with a smile as he spotted her stumbling toward the stage.

 

Clarke’s body tensed. She hadn’t performed in front of people in ages, not since... But now it was too late. If she left now it would only be incredibly embarrassing, and insanely awkward if she ever wanted to come back to this place. She took a deep breath before putting on a small smile and hesitantly stepped onto the stage. Lincoln put the microphone on it’s stand and Clarke nodded at him, signalling that she was ready to take over now. He nodded back and stepped off the stage, walking over to Octavia and Raven’s table to watch.

 

Clarke pulled a stool out from the back, adjusted the height of the microphone and retrieved the guitar from its stand. She put the guitar strap around her neck and sat down on.

 

“Hi.” She cleared her throat while tuning the guitar. Her voice was slightly shaking, as was her body. “Hey. Sorry for freaking out there for a sec. Didn’t expect to perform anything tonight. I haven’t done this in quite some time…” She chuckled at the memories. This was all coming more naturally to her than she thought it would. “Anyway, I was not expecting this, but my lovely friends -and yes, that was sarcasm- decided to ambush me with this. Remind me to get my revenge later.” That earned a few chuckles from the audience.

 

“So, long story short, I didn’t prepare anything for this, so I gotta play something I know by heart. Sorry if this is too slow for you or something, but this song means a lot to me. Okay, here goes. Wish me luck.” She cleared her throat again, and began playing.

 

_Now here you go again_

_You say, you want your freedom_

_Well who am I to keep you down?_

To her surprise, the singing came almost easy to her, and a smile tugged on her lips as she continued.

_It’s only right_

_That you should play the way you feel it_

_But listen carefully_

_To the sound_

_Of your loneliness_

The other costumers of the bar swayed to the sound of her raspy, but soft and gentle voice. Clarke closed her eyes as she started swaying her head to the melody.

 

_Like a heartbeat drives you mad_

_In the stillness of remembering_

_What you had_

_And what you lost_

_And what you had_

_And what you lost_

 

She opened her eyes once again when she started singing the chorus, her eyes suddenly set on a silhouette at the corner of the bar, away from the light of the rest of the room. The woman from before, when she went to get the drinks. She grinned at the memory of the woman coughing and the adorable thumbs up she gave her when she asked if she was alright.

 

_Thunder only happens when it’s raining_

_Players only love you when they’re playing_

_Say women, they will come and they will go_

_When the rain washes you clean, you’ll know_

_You’ll know_

She tried to look away, but her gaze seemed to always find a way back to the woman’s shadow in the dark.

 

_Now here I go again_

_I see the crystal visions_

_I keep my visions to myself_

Clarke’s mind drifted and she felt herself get lost in the music and the memory of the woman’s beautiful face.

 

_It’s only me_

_Who wants to wrap around your dreams_

_Have you any dreams you’d like to sell?_

_Dreams of loneliness_

_Like a heartbeat drives you mad_

_In the stillness of remembering_

_What you had_

_And what you lost_

_And what you had_

_And what you lost…_

As the last note faded, the audience was pulled out of their trance. They erupted into a lovely light applause and a few cheers from the back. Clarke smiled and with small pauses to tune the guitar, light and slightly awkward but comfortable banter with the audience and a few sips of her beer, she played three more songs.

 

“Okay, I think that’s all I have for now. My voice isn’t used to this as much anymore. Thank you all so much, this meant a lot. I think I might even forgive my friends for forcing me to do this in the first place. Have a good night!” The audience chuckled and erupted in cheers and clapping as Clarke jumped off the stage and made her way back to her friends.

 

As she reached the table, Raven and Octavia were beaming with pride. Before they could say anything like “We told you so” or “Oh, no need to thank us” Clarke glared at them so intensely they feared it would shoot daggers through their skulls. They swallowed.

 

“I lied up there. I won’t forgive you and I’m gonna get that revenge. I’d be careful if I were you...”

 

\---

 

“Hey, Lexa! Heda! Earth to Lexa, are you there? WOMAN ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?!”

 

Her cousin’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She was so mesmerized by the beautiful blonde’s - _no, Clarke’s_ – singing that she didn’t even realize Anya was talking to her. “Huh?”

 

“You okay there? You seem a tad spaced out.”

 

Lexa blinked, shaking her head to snap back into reality. “What? Yeah, I’m fine. Just… lost in thought”

 

Anya looked at her, tilting her head with a smirk. “Sure, kid. Whatever you say.”

 

Lexa looked at her, slightly confused at the sentence “What? I- Never mind. I’m gonna go use the bathroom. Keys?”

 

Anya tossed the staff keys to her little cousin, knowing that Lexa was referring to the staff bathroom in the back because she didn’t like fighting her way through puking or making out drunk people to search for a bathroom stall that wasn’t already occupied.

 

Lexa caught the keys and left the front of the bar through the blue door labelled “STAFF ONLY” next to the end of the counter.

 

\---

 

Clarke had just finished off her beer when Lincoln came back to the table. “Anya wants to talk to you. She’s the one behind the bar”, he said and pointed to a fierce-looking woman mixing drinks on the other side of the room.

 

Clarke looked at him confused. “What? Why would she want to talk to me?”

 

“Don’t know. Just told me to send you over.”

 

“Okay…” Clarke said as she hesitantly made her way over to the bar. “Hey.”

 

The woman looked up. “Hi.”

 

“So, Lincoln said you wanted to talk to me?” Clarke wondered.

 

“Yes. I have a proposition to make. Everyone loved your voice. We have an open slot two times a week. Ninety minutes, 200 dollars. Payment in cash. Monday and Friday nights. Do you want it?”

 

Clarke expression was shocked. Did that woman just offer her a regular gig, out of nowhere? No way.

“I- I’m sorry, what? Are you offering me a job?” she stuttered.

 

“A gig, yes. You’re _really_ good. Of course, we can discuss the payment. Food and drinks would be free for you, obviously.” Anya stated almost matter-of-factly “What do you say?”

Before Clarke could even process the offer, she felt an arm around her shoulder and the familiar voice of her best friend popped her bubble of confusion.

 

“Raise the pay up to 250 and we have ourselves a deal!” a slightly drunk Raven burst into the conversation.

 

Anya seemed to ponder for a second. “220.”

 

“230. Last offer.” Raven extended her hand.

 

“230 it is.” Anya shook her hand. “First gig is on Monday, eight-thirty. It’s enough if you’re here fifteen minutes early. But be here in time, I hate people that are late.” She looked at Clarke expectantly.

 

The blonde, who had just finished processing the conversation that had happened in front of her, blinked in shock. “I’m sorry, don’t I get a say in this?”

 

“Nope.” Both women answered in unison, turning their heads to briefly smirk at each other.

 

Clarke shot Raven the same glance she had after her unexpected mini gig on stage. Raven visibly shuddered at her friend’s intense stare. “I- I mean, sure… No. You don’t. You’re taking this job because… because I’ll let you have the bigger room! Exactly! Ha!” she managed, gaining back her confidence with a cocky grin. “Can’t turn that down, huh, Princess?”

 

Clarke breathed in. She thought about it for a second, letting the two women wait with anticipation. _I mean, this ‘gig’_ was _fun. And I could really use the money. I was planning on leaving the big room to Raven, but now that she offered… Besides, maybe I would get to see the pretty stranger from earlier again…_

 

She gave in. “Alright, I’ll do it. But I’m bringing my own guitar next time.” She held a hand out for Anya, who grabbed it in a strong hold and shook it eagerly.

 

“Great. I’ll see you Monday then. And next round is on me.”

 

Clarke shot her a quick smile. “Okay. Thanks.”

 

\---

 

Lexa stood in the doorway and waited for the blonde and her friend to go back to their table before reclaiming her previous seat at the counter. She handed the keys back to Anya.

 

“Sooo...” she began.

 

“Sooo?” her cousin repeated. “What’s up?”

 

“You said you had a job as a bartender available.”

 

“I thought you wanted to focus on school and getting settled in before you looked into any potential jobs?”

She was right, Lexa did say that. But that was then, and this was now.

 

“Does this have anything to do with that girl that was just singing? The one I gave a permanent gig to?” Anya continued.

_Shit, her cousin new her better than anyone. That, and Lexa was shit at lying…_

 

“Pfft... no? I don’t know who you’re talking about”

 

“Oh, come on! I saw you drooling over there when she was singing that Fleetwood Mac song you like so much! It was hilarious! I thought you were gonna fall off your stool, you were totally in love with her!” Anya laughed.

 

“I was not! It’s a good song and I enjoyed her voice. That’s all.” Lexa argued. _I did like her voice… but that’s certainly not all I liked about her…_

 

“Tell yourself whatever you want, Woods. Hopefully you’re better at lying to yourself than you are at lying to other people. I have eyes, you know.”

 

Lexa rolled her eyes. Her cousin was right. But she wouldn’t dare admit that out loud.

 

She cleared her throat. “So, is that job offer still on the table? I-”

 

“You start Monday. You’re getting Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights. I know that works with your classes, since you don’t have to get up till ten the days after. Also, you can make yourself useful right now and help me dry the rest of these glasses.”

 

She was going to ask for Monday and Friday nights anyways. _It works well with my schedule._ It did not at all have anything to do with the fact that she overheard Clarke was going to have a gig on those nights. _Not at all._

 

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a damp dish towel hit her square in the chest before falling onto the counter. She sighed and picked it up before started to dry the glasses in front of her.

 

“Thank you” she said and smiled when her thoughts started drifting again to a certain song, sang by a beautiful blonde with a heart-melting smile and the prettiest, most sincere sky-blue eyes.

 

“You’re welcome” came the chuckled response from her cousin, but she was so lost in thought that she didn’t even hear. 

 

Anya knew very well the dreamy state her little cousin was in, and it was glorious to see her this at peace again…

 

 

* * *

 


End file.
